page_title: The Japanese House
section_title: 2012 - 2015: Early career, Pools to Bathe In and Clean
hierarchical_section_title: The Japanese House / Career / 2012 - 2015: Early career, Pools to Bathe In and Clean
caption_attribution_description: The Japanese House performing live at The Wiltern in Los Angeles on 10/12/2019.
context_page_description: The Japanese House is an English indie pop act from Buckinghamshire consisting of solo artist Amber Bain. Bain contributes vocals and plays guitar, synthesizer and keyboard for her music. As a teenager, Bain decided to pursue a career in music, having been taught music from her father during childhood. She began writing music under the moniker The Japanese House in 2012, after being introduced to Matt Healy of The 1975, who offered to help produce her music under the label Dirty Hit. She first rose to prominence after the release of her first single, "Still", which was a critical success and premiered on BBC Radio 1 presented by Zane Lowe.
  Bain's androgynous vocals, heavy use of production, and elusive media presence fuelled fan speculation about her gender and identity after her first few singles were released. In 2015, Bain released her debut EP Pools to Bathe In and the follow up EP Clean. These first two EPs were rooted in indie pop and synth-pop, and included experimentation with genres such as dream pop, folktronica, and electropop. She toured with Dirty Hit labelmates The 1975 and Wolf Alice in 2015 and 2016 before headlining tours of her own.
context_section_description: In 2012 Bain's friend introduced her to singer Matt Healy of The 1975, who she was dating. Bain began working closely with The 1975, and signed to their label Dirty Hit. 
  Bain settled on the stagename The Japanese House because she did not feel ready to reveal her name or gender. As a result, very little was known about The Japanese House when her debut single "Still" was premiered on BBC Radio 1 with Zane Lowe on 2 March 2015. 
  
  Bain's androgynous voice and avoidance of press photography fueled speculation about her gender and identity. After the release of "Still", there was widespread speculation that the singer behind The Japanese House was a man, and some fans even speculated that it was a side project of Matt Healy of The 1975. Bain went on her first tour as an opening act for The 1975 in 2015. Bain subsequently released three more singles. "Pools to Bathe In" which was released on 25 March 2015 and "Teeth", released on 8 April 2015. The EP's third single, "Sister" was released on 21 April 2015. Bain's first EP Pools to Bathe In, a compilation of her four previous singles, was released on 27 April 2015 to favourable reviews.
  The titular single from the EP Clean was released on 7 September 2015 and premiered on BBC Radio 1 that same day. The EP's second single, "Cool Blue" was released 15 September, followed by "Letter by the Water" on 27 October 2015. The final single, "Sugar Pill" was released on 3 November 2015. Clean was released on 6 November 2015, and received positive reviews from critics.
caption: Bain performing at the Wiltern in October, 2019.
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